Life after Gun Control...

[Captain Evilstomper]

Actor Heath Ledger's portrayal of the Joker was an artistic tour de force, but "he spent 99% of his time on-screen holding a knife. We need to think about that," Trowsdale said.

"You're a 10-year-old watching Heath Ledger . . . You watch the way he uses that knife. Then you go on Sony PlayStation and play a game . . . where you're rewarded points for stabbing somebody. You go [out] on the streets and feel threatened. What are you going to do?"

awesome, in almost the same breath this guy shifted the blame from problems in society, to movies and videogames. next they'll be suing the knifemakers because they make 'unsafe' products. then there'll be 'knife runners' arming the gangs.

[xxdabroxx]

It's just a flesh wound.

+1 for Monty quote about Brits taking knifes away!

this is ridiculous. They have wanted this for quite some time now though. I read an article from a few years ago with a similar message.

[AJAX22]

I caried a knife when I was in brittian, (it was 1999 so they hadn't banned them yet)

I got a lot of crap from the bobbies over it, but just having it clipped on my pocket kept a few situations from getting out of hand.

I still remember getting off of the airplane in hethrow with a 5 inch lock blade in my pocket and going through customs... the look on the customs agents face was priceless...
him:"what the hell do you plan on doing with that"....
me:"cutting things".....
him: "like what"
me:"anything that needs cutting"

On the flight back they tried to keep it, then when I wasn't having any of it, they made me check it and keep it in my baggage for 'security'

.....

England: the only country in history that was unsuccessful in conquering France.

[pingpong]

Geeze guys, why so serious?

[radioburning]

Sounds like they need to ban "youths".

[Matt C]

Some youths now carry bladed weapons out of fear for their safety, without malevolent intent, but that needs to be discouraged because the knives can be turned on them, Trowsdale said.

How do you do that exactly? I would like to see someone try to "turn" my deployed emmerson folder on me.

[Greg-Dawg]

Rubbish.

[Captain Evilstomper]

damn youths and their youthfulness

[7x57]

From the Los Angeles Times
Britain moves to curb rise in knife violence
In London alone, 85 people were fatally stabbed last year. The Labor government, under fire from Conservatives, puts forward a zero-tolerance policy.
By Henry Chu

January 5, 2009

His death added to a grim roll call of fatal knife attacks in Britain in 2008, possibly the worst such year on record. In a country where guns are strictly controlled and shootings are much rarer than in the United States, the surge in stabbings has propelled the issue of knife crime to the top of the public safety agenda.

The lie needs to be confronted directly, because it is used to imply that the gun ban has worked. The failure of weapon prohibition is so obvious in his data that he has not erased it entirely: "worst such year on record." But he then goes on to ay "shootings are much rarer than in the US." Um, yes, fifty years ago it was, but IIRC from Nemerov's book the firearm violence rate is now something like twice the rate for the US. Until we confront the fact that this long out-dated impression of Britain is wrong, it is too easy to imply that British gun control has worked instead of being the absolute unmitigated disaster it is.

But that has not stopped the issue from becoming a political blame game featuring accusations of lying and replays of a popular public debate over whether British society is "broken."

<snip>

"It is quite shocking to think that these numbers are the highest since they started recording these sorts of incidents back in 1977," James Brokenshire, an opposition spokesman on public safety issues, told the British Broadcasting Corp.

In other words, quite a bit of the public has a sense that they've been well and truly shafted by their government, and the politicians are terrified that the truth may come out. As for shocking, it's only shocking if you have an irrational, unquestioned belief that gun control must be a good thing. It's shocking in the way that it was "shocking" that the Ghost Shirts didn't stop bullets.

Some youths now carry bladed weapons out of fear for their safety, without malevolent intent, but that needs to be discouraged because the knives can be turned on them, Trowsdale said.

This lie also needs to be confronted. I don't know if useful statistics exist for Britain, but in the US this and the related lie that a gun in the home is more likely to be used against the residents are easily falsified by the data. They rest on severe statistics abuse and nothing more.

7x57

[Captain Evilstomper]

maybe they should ban violent and disruptive thought..

[Cru Jones]

England has never been the same since Ali G took to the streets. Ayyyiight.

[nick]

England: the only country in history that was unsuccessful in conquering France.

Historically inaccurate, there were also Spain and the Caliphate, but that was a good one A signature material right there. Can I use it?

[Warhawk014]

they should have a unsafe knife roster. you can only buy knives that have been drop tested and passed the test.

[Wild Squid]

Why does it seem that every law that is passed seems to just make the gangs stronger? England is no different.

[UBFRAGD]

Can't wait till the Nanny State implodes or goes sharia law. How will the imposition of sharia law be celebrated? By firing Ak's into the air of course........